Morgan Rode sports@newmedia-wi.com
After another successful fall high school sports season, Bonduel High School had the chance to honor some of the top athletes in their respective sports at a banquet on Monday.
Coaches from football, volleyball, cross-country and girls golf all spent time at the podium, discussing the success their teams had this fall as well as thanking supporters.
Football
Despite some concerns after losing several seniors from a strong 2017 roster, the Bonduel football found its footing after battling through adversity halfway through the season and qualified for the postseason again. The Bears finished the year with a 6-3 regular season record and 5-2 mark in the Central Wisconsin Conference-Large Division.
Following back-to-back conference losses to Iola-Scandinavia and Amherst, Bonduel ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak to lock up a spot in the playoffs.
The Bears traveled to Colby for their Level One playoff game. Turnovers proved too much to overcome in an eventual 26-20 season-ending loss.
Coach James Westrich said this year’s defense was one of the best he has coached at the school and that the team was also very unselfish. The Bears had several players forced into significant roles after some early injuries hit the team and Westrich was pleased with how the team came together.
Seniors Parker Bohm and Isaac Garside shared the most valuable player award after leading a high-powered Bonduel offense. Bohm will graduate as the school’s all-time leader in passing yards, while Garside leaves with the all-time records for receptions and receiving yards. Garside also was named the best special teams player.
Senior Jacob Giese was named the team’s top lineman and defensive player while junior Cole Letter was honored as the utility player of the year after playing several positions.
Junior Tristan Tomashek had a breakout year for the Bears and was named the most improved player. Sophomore Max Sokolski was awarded the best scout team player.
Volleyball
With a handful of underclassmen on the roster, the Bonduel volleyball had a little bit of a down year in terms of wins, but the Bears were a scrappy bunch that rarely made things easy for the opponent.
Bonduel finished fifth in the tough CWC-East Division during the regular season before placing fourth at the conference tournament.
The Bears were given a No. 12 seed in Division 3 for the postseason. True to the rest of the season, Bonduel hung tough with fifth-seeded Amherst, which won the CWC-East, but came up a little short.
Senior McKenzie Wollenberg had a strong season on the court and was named the team’s most valuable player for a second season in a row as a result. She was the lone Bear to make an all-conference team and was one of three captains.
Mandi McClone and Kylie Guenther were the other two team captains.
Sophomore Joanie Wudtke played a number of different positions for the team and was named the most improved player. Freshman Hayley Wolf was given the coaches’ award for helping coach Kimberly Strayer throughout the season.
Strayer thanked the seniors for their hard work and also expressed optimism for next year with so many returning players who earned valuable playing time this fall.
Cross-country
For a second straight season, both the Bonduel girls and boys cross-country teams ended their seasons at the State Cross-Country Championships.
Each team’s top runner, senior Jared Wondra for the boys and sophomore Kara Troxel for the girls, were honored as the team’s most valuable runners. Troxel took ninth at state on Saturday while Wondra led the boys by placing 58th in his third straight state appearance.
Jake Lecheler and Alexia Folkman were named the most improved runners for a team of runners that was constantly setting new personal records.
Madison Kurey and Michael Smith each were awarded the most determined award. The most grit awards were given to Breanna Schnell and Carter Kurey.
Wondra, Colin Ewing and Grace Tubutis were all captains.
Coach Diane Schnell will need to replace Wondra and Ewing from the boys state team going into next year but will return all seven of this year’s girls state runners.
Girls golf
Competing against much larger teams in the Bay Conference, the often short-handed Bonduel girls golf team showed great improvement under coach Duke Copp throughout the season.
The team’s lone sectional qualifier, senior Jessie LaBerge, was named the team’s most valuable golfer for a second straight fall. LaBerge landed on the first team all-conference, behind just two golfers.
Ava Pleshek was tabbed the most improved golfer while Jenna Godin was given the coaches award.